


Behind The Scenes

by Gajeelswoman



Series: Altered Perspectives [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-17 01:57:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 18,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9299171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gajeelswoman/pseuds/Gajeelswoman
Summary: Life from Gajeel's POV. What was it that caused him to hate Fairy Tail, and why did he target Shadow Gear? What goes through his mind, now that he's a Fairy himself? I don't own any of the Fairy Tail characters, they belong to Hiro Mashima.





	1. The Phantom

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters. They are owned by Hiro Mashima

Gajeel's POV

"What's your name, child?"

I looked up at the smooth voice coming from the doorway.

"Gajeel" I replied, trying not to sound scared. I'd been wandering around for weeks, trying to find my dad after he disappeared. No one had seen him, in fact most people laughed when I asked if they'd seen a dragon, as if my question was so unreasonable.

"And why are you here?" I couldn't see the man's face with the light coming from behind him.

"I don't have a home. I heard that I could find some work here so I can eat." I didn't want to tell him everything. I was so tired of being laughed at. I'm not stupid, like everyone thinks.

"I see. What makes you think a child like you can handle the jobs we do here? Only mages with the highest strength can join us here..."

"I AM STRONG!" I yelled, clenching my fists in anger. "Just because I'm small, don't mean I'm weak. I'm the son of a dragon! I've been takin' care of myself for weeks! Forget ya, I don't need yer stupid guild!" I turned around and started to storm off. I refuse to cry in front of people. Dad used to laugh when I cried.

The man laughed, making me even more angry. I whirled around, sucking in a breath to propel my magic at him. "Iron dragon roar!" I shouted, blasting shards of metal in a funnel straight at the man. He stopped laughing and jumped out of the way of my attack. It wasn't as strong as Dad's, but he's a full grown dragon! Even so, I put a few holes in the wall next to where the man had been standing.

"Well now, I think maybe we got off on the wrong foot, Gajeel, son of a dragon. Please, won't you come inside? We'll talk about the rules for any wizard joining Phantom Lord." He had a smile on his face. It wasn't a nice smile, but I was honestly tired of being alone. He seemed to respect my magic, at least.

I walked into the building, holding my head up high and proud like Dad taught me. If I act like I'm confident long enough, maybe I'll start actually being confident? I fixed my meanest glare on my face as I looked around the room I walked into. There were several men looking at me curiously, having heard the exchange between myself and the man in the door.

I sat and talked to the man who had brought me in. His name was Jose, and he was in fact the guild master. I got stamped on my shoulder, ignoring the sting. I've had worse injuries from falling off Dad's back before.

_I guess I'm a guild wizard now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N so this is my first fanfic ever, transferred from another site. Sorry chapters are so short, they get longer as we go! Constructive criticism is appreciated, and reviews! Hope you enjoy the story!


	2. Trash

"Remember, my boy, if you see any Fairy trash, thrash them. Letting a Fairy go means you're weak. And we don't tolerate weakness here." Master Jose was sending me on another job near Magnolia, the trash town those weaklings hide in. I've been on a couple of jobs in that area over the last five years, but I've never run into a Fairy. At least, not that I've told the Master about. I did see a guy one time, but the power radiating out of him was too intense for me to push my luck. I'm tough, but I was only thirteen. This guy destroyed a rock by bumping into it, I don't even think he was trying.

"Yeah, yeah. Those scum won't even know what hits them," I snarled in response. My usual glare was on my face as I looked around the guild. These idiots. Master Jose talked about only allowing strength in Phantom, but none of these fools could hold a candle to my power. Well, almost none. The Element Four are tough. My only friend here was the Rain Woman. She's powerful enough, if a bit gloomy. I snagged a last handful of nails off my pile and threw them in my mouth as I stomped out of the guildhall.

This should be an easy enough job. Just have to go beat up some thugs who'd been harassing an orphanage, demanding "protection" money. Those fools didn't know the orphanage was already paying Phantom Lord for "protection." Master Jose wasn't about to let them switch..."guards."

My heavy boots thudded on the street as I walked towards the orphanage with my hands in my pockets. I wasn't really in a hurry, the longer I could stay out of the guild, the better. Stupid people there always sat around talking about how strong they were, but never showing me.

"Gihi, they're too scared to spar with me anymore. Doesn't matter that I'm only sixteen," I laughed to myself. It'd been a while since I'd had a good fight.

As I walked into town, I heard some kids talking. I snuck up to the corner of the building and looked around. There, about six yards away, were two boys about two years younger than me, and a girl the same age. She had blue hair and a big smile, and one of the boys had orange hair, while the other had black. The black haired boy looked like an idiot, with his hair slicked up like a tail or something. I snorted, and started to walk away, when I realized they had that trash guild's mark on them. I gritted my teeth...

"Now I have to fight them... Or Master Jose will say I'm weak, and kick me out. I don't feel like tryin' to find somewhere else to live." I took a deep breath, and was caught off guard by their scents. I smelled plants, ink, old paper, and.. gross. The orange haired kid was sweaty. As I watched, I saw him activate his magic and run off super fast, and come back with a book that he gave to the girl. "Ah," I muttered, "he's a speedster." I looked around some more, but didn't see anyone else.

"Tch, whatever. I ain't gonna fight these weak little fairies. Beatin' them up won't prove I'm strong any more than beatin' on a trainin' dummy does." With that, I walked down a side street and took a different path to my job.


	3. Consequences

It was after nightfall by the time I made it back to the guildhall. I had a black eye, and bloody knuckles, but other than that I was unscathed. Glaring around the main hall, I found an empty table, and threw myself down on the bench. "Man, I'm tired." I groaned, dropping an arm over my eyes. I heard footsteps approaching, but ignored them. It was just the Master, probably wanting to know how it went.

"Gajeel, how was your mission? Did you take care of the trash?" Jose asked, sounding as disinterested as I was.

"Yeah, yeah. Those idiots won't be trying to steal from us again, they know who's in charge of this town." I didn't bother sitting up, or moving my arm. I thought I smelled someone else close by, but when I peeked out, I didn't see anyone.

"Good, that's good. But, I was talking about the Fairies... Did you eliminate any of those?" There was something menacing behind his voice, and I got really still. "Didn't see any," I grumbled.

Suddenly, I started feeling light headed. I couldn't focus, and my arm fell from my eyes. I looked up to see Aria, standing over me with both hands around my head. The fool was crying, for some reason... As he pulled his hands away, I realized he must have just drained away my magic. I tried to stand up, but just ended up rolling off the bench into the floor.

"Not so tough now, are ya, ya little bastard?" I couldn't place the voice, and my nose seemed to be clogged. I stopped worrying about it when the first boot collided with my ribs. I coughed, and tried to push myself up to fight back, but there was no strength left in my arms. _C'mon, dammit! Get up Gajeel!_ I yelled at myself, but it was pointless. Aria's magic had taken down stronger enemies than me. I felt a strong hand grab my foot, dragging me into the middle of the room. As they dropped me, I looked up and saw Master Jose still sitting at the table, an evil smirk on his face. But, then my vision was blocked by more feet, and I curled up to protect my face from the kicks and punches that were raining down on me.

"Weakling! Letting Fairies go!"

"Pansy, couldn't fight a little girl and her friends!"

"Thought you were so tough!"

I tried to memorize the voices of my attackers, but as I blacked out, I could only think of that blue haired little bitch, and her idiot friends. _I hate them. I'll never make the mistake of sparing them again..._


	4. Juvia

"Ugh!" _Why does waking up hurt so bad? Damn!_ I stopped trying to sit up, looking around. I was on the floor in a strange room, but I had a pillow and was covered by a blanket. I could hear rain on the roof, and my sense of smell was telling me I was somewhere familiar, I just couldn't place it.

"Gajeel-kun is finally awake? Juvia was so worried!" The rain woman came into the room with a tray of food. I smelled metal too, so maybe it was for me?

"Juvia? What am I doing on the floor?" I groaned again. My whole body hurt, what the hell happened?!

"Juvia is sorry!" She exclaimed, her face turning red. "Juvia found you in the alley where our guildmates dumped you, and brought Gajeel-kun here, but Juvia could not lift you off the floor!" She looked like she was about to cry.

"Wait, what? Where they dumped me? Wha-?" I stopped, as the memory of being drained of my magic and then beat up flooded into my mind. "That's right," I growled, "those bastards did this to me. That's why I'm hurt. Juvia! How long have I been here?"

Juvia looked at her feet, "Well, Juvia couldn't get a healer without Master finding out, so Gajeel-kun has been sleeping here for about three days..." She faded out talking as I growled again, and forced myself to a sitting position. "Gajeel-kun! You'll make your injuries worse!" Juvia exclaimed as she rushed to my side. She dropped the tray next to me, and tried to help me.

"I don't need yer help, dammit!" I snapped at her, snatching my arm away. Almost immediately I regretted it. She looked as if I'd hit her. "Juvia is so-" I help up my hand, "Don't be sorry. Ya didn't do anythin' to be sorry for. Just stop." I sighed. "I'm the one who's sorry. Yer just helpin' me, an' I don't like bein' weak. Ya know that." I paused, and raised an eyebrow. "That metal for me?"

Juvia smiled and slid me the tray, laughing a little when I eagerly snatched the bits of iron. The food smelled good too, but the metal would replenish my magic faster. "Fanks..." I mumbled around my meal.

"Of course. Juvia is just glad she could help Gajeel-kun." Juvia smiled again, and then left the room.

I finished eating, and collapsed back onto my pillow. I could hear the taunts of my attackers echoing in my head.. "Weakling...pansy...useless..." I knew who each voice belonged to... and grinned wickedly as I planned how to best make them regret their words. Those cowards could only attack me after Aria had drained me... _They'll soon learn to fear me._


	5. A New Job

"Gajeel, come to my office, please." I heard Master's voice across the hall. He didn't speak very loud, but of course I could hear him. Even over the pointless babble of the idiots around me. "Yeah, yeah," I muttered as I finished eating my breakfast of metal bits wrapped in bacon. I pushed myself up from my table and started walking to the back of the building. People scrambled out of my way, cringing if I looked at them. _Gihi, good._ I thought to myself. It'd been two years since those morons thought to "put me in my place." They've since learned the error of their ways. Or, well, a few of them didn't get a chance to learn.. Their brain damage left them like children, unable to learn anything.

I stomped into the master's office, and slammed the door. "Yeah? Ya got somethin' for me to do?" I growled at him. I still don't like the man, but he's the boss. He raised an eyebrow, and smirked at me.

"Yes, I believe you'll enjoy this job, too. We've been hired to locate the daughter of Jude Heartfilia and bring her home."

"Catch a runaway? Why the hell would I enjoy somethin' like that?" Sounded boring.

"Oh? Did I forget to mention? She's hiding out... at Fairy Tail." My ears perked up at that, and I couldn't stop myself from showing my excitement.

"She's hidin' with those trash? Ha! This'll be cake." I turned to stomp out of the room.

"Gajeel..." Master called me back. I turned, raising a studded eyebrow. "Feel free to, how should I put this? Let loose on the Fairy scum's guildhall. But, we're not taking the girl just yet, got it? Once you've had your fun, come back."

"Yeah, gihi, I hear ya." I left his office, a grin on my face. I stopped short, seeing the Rain Woman walking towards his office. "Juv?" She glanced up at me, startled. "Master Jose has requested Juvia's presence, Gajeel-kun. Juvia will speak with Gajeel when she has finished with the Master." I nodded as she passed me, and leaned against a wall out of sight, folding my arms across my chest and closing my eyes. The gloomy woman had been struggling lately, she was too gentle for this guild. The thing about Phantom though, once you joined, there was no leaving. No one else would have you, for one. But, chances were you knew someone's secrets. The last guy who'd left had been found in a ditch less than a day later. Killing fellow guild members was forbidden, but deserters? They were fair game.

"Juvia, come in, come in." Jose's voice was smooth as always, I couldn't tell from my eavesdropping position how he truly was feeling. "Master Jose wished to speak with Juvia?" _Man, she's got such a dead voice when she talks to him._ "Yes, my dear. I have a job for you. I want you to go to Magnolia. Watch Gajeel from a distance, to make sure he doesn't fuck up the job I've given him." I caught myself as I started to growl. He wouldn't be able to hear me, but the spike in fear from the moron closest to me was clogging up my nose. "And, after he's completed his destruction of the Fairy Fail guild hall, I want you to scout the town for any Fairies. Just this once, I don't want you to engage. Simply track which Fairies are in town. I'll send Sol along in a few days with further instructions."

"Yes, Master. Juvia shall do as you ask." She came back out of his office, closing the door behind her. She came around the corner and almost ran into me. "G-Gajeel!" She glanced back over her shoulder at Jose's office and grabbed my arm, dragging me further down the hall. "Gajeel-kun heard Master Jose's orders then?" I nodded slowly, wondering where she was going with her question. "Juvia does not wish to cause harm to her friend. But, Juvia is afraid to disobey orders." I raised a hand to stop her, before she started beating herself up. "Juv, I got it. Meet me in Magnolia, at that little cafe ya like. We're gonna have time, an' we'll talk there, yeah?" She nodded, her eyes watering. "C'mon now. Stop yer damn crying', woman. Put on yer game face and haul ass out of here." Juvia wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, a mask of indifference on her face. "There ya go. Just like we practiced. Now, git." I jerked a thumb over my shoulder at the door and waited for her to walk past. I leaned on the wall again, waiting until I heard the constant patter of rain on the roof fade. _That should be far enough away._

I plastered a smirk on my face and thudded through the hall, scaring some of my "guild mates" as I walked by. Since my mistake of letting those weak Fairies go about their day without a thrashing two years ago, I've beaten every one I came across. None of them were even a challenge. There was an idiot who danced everywhere, a girl with purple hair who used maker magic, that one guy with the sand magic, and a few others. I don't typically like beating up women, but the maker magic bitch was too easy. I just "bumped" into her, knocking her into a wall. She got knocked out, and I broke her glasses for good measure. Now though, now I had permission to go do some damage! I set off for Magnolia, happier than I'd been for a while. _Oh yes, this'll be fun. I'll get the rain woman out of the guild for a few days, maybe she'll see some sun. AND I'll get to take out the trash._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author note: I did my best to get Gajeel and Juvia in there a bit! Tbh, they're my brotp so it was a lot of fun. :D Way to go me, jumping from 400 some words a chapter to 1,030 in this one XD. Let me know what y'all think!


	6. Destruction

"Juvia wants to leave Phantom Lord, Gajeel-kun. Juvia has considered going to the Council with information in exchange for protection, but she is not confident that it would be enough. There is also a danger to Gajeel, because he is Juvia's friend." She trailed off and looked down at the little bowl of ice cream on the table in front of her. We were at her favorite little cafe in Magnolia, some frilly little ice cream parlor called Lickity Lick, of all things. They had stupid happy pictures on the walls and the workers sang ridiculous songs if you gave them a tip. It wasn't so bad, they had seasonal flavors, and usually at least one with alcohol in it. My ice cream was a flavor called Fire and Ice, vanilla ice cream with a cinnamon whiskey mixed in. The whiskey added a burn that almost completely countered the cold. Juvia was eating some frufru flavor like cotton candy or some shit like that. We were the only ones sat outside, the red and white striped umbrella keeping the rain off of us.

"Yeah, Juv, I been lookin' into that too. I think if we figure out a way to get ya out, we could stage a fight so they think we ain't close anymore." I stopped talking and cocked my head to the side, spacing out as I thought. "Actually, that might work. You could say you wanted to leave when we're back in the guildhall. I'll yell at ya, and then ya disappear. I'll follow ya out, tellin' Jose I'll kill ya. Free an' clear. Not like they wouldn't believe that I'd do it." I looked back at her when her spoon clattered to the table. Her eyes were wide, tears threatening to spill over as the rain picked up. "G-gajeel shouldn't say such things so casually! Juvia can not tell if he is being serious!"

I picked up her spoon and carefully handed it back to her, taking her hand gently as I did. "Juvia, I am being serious right now. You have nothin' to fear from me. Yer like family to me. No one has known me as well as you since Dad took off." She looked down, and I pulled my hand away. "Tch. Stop with the waterworks, dammit!"

"Juvia cannot control the rain! Gajeel knows this!" She swiped at the tears that had finally broken loose. "Not the rain, idiot. The water leakin' out of yer face." I sighed and ate my spoon while I waited for her to stop sniffling.

"Listen. I may be an ass, but I would never hurt ya. There's nothin' that bastard we call Master could pay me, threaten me with, or otherwise use to convince me to harm ya. Yer like a lil' sister to me." I folded my arms across my chest and scowled at her.

"Juvia knew there was a softer side to Gajeel than he let people see, but she did not know how much Gajeel-kun cared!" I looked away with a growl. "Yeah, well don't go spreadin' that around. They'll think that ya went bonkers." I stood up with a huff. "We'll think on it some more, yeah? Maybe somethin' else will present itself. For now, I've got some trash to deal with." With that I walked off into the rain, knowing it would end after a few blocks.

It was night by the time I got to the scum Fairies' hall. I took a deep breath, and only smelled the lingering scents of these weaklings. _There's no one here. I'll just leave them a little surprise for the morning._ I broke in through a window, smashing a few more, for the fun of it. _Tch,_ I thought, looking around. _This place doesn't look like a guild for wizards. It's just a trashy bar. Gihi, how about I trash it a little more!_ I walked around their guild hall, eating little bits of metal as I found them. Forks, spoons, a pen, and some nails that were laying around. Finally, I stopped in the middle of the hall, and raised my hands over my head. I gathered my power, and yelled, "Iron Dragon's Pillars!" As I slammed my hands into the floor, iron cylinders shot out at different angles, crashing through the walls and ceiling. "HAHAHAHA!" This was great! I sat on the side of one of my pillars for a few minutes to see if the commotion would bring anyone running.

As I grew bored, I walked upstairs, and gathered my power again. "Iron Dragon's Pillars!" I yelled, and watched the metal decimate the roof here too. "Iron Dragon's Club!" I shouted, and began smashing tables and windows that were missed by the pillars. Still none of these fools came running. Maybe they're smarter than I thought, and are too scared to come.

"Gihi, I guess I'll wait until morning to see their reactions." I climbed out one of the holes in the roof, and leapt to a nearby building. Sitting down by a chimney so I wouldn't be seen, I pulled my half cloak around my arms and went to sleep.

I woke up the next morning to shouts of dismay. "Aaah, music to my ears!" I chuckled darkly, looking around the brick chimney I'd slept against to watch the trash run around like a bunch of chickens, squawking about their precious hall. A little old man looked like he was about to cry. _Ha! That must be old man Makarov._ I started scanning around the rest of the gawkers. There were too many of them down there to pick a fight. I may not be a genius, but I ain't that stupid. Besides, Master had said this was just a property damage mission. I kept my eyes open for scarlet hair. I hadn't had never fought the so-called Titania, and I was pretty sure I didn't want to. Not here, anyway. Not with all her scum to back her up.

I froze when I caught the smell of ink and paper, mingled with plants and sweat. _Them! They're here!_ I scanned for the bluenette and her morons. I'd read about them once, they called themselves Shadow Gear. _What a joke._ They weren't scary, and they didn't know anything about working in the dark. Not like I do.

"Gah! They're too surrounded. I'll have to get them some other time." Those fools owed me; because of them I'd been made into a punching bag. I pulled my hood up, so they couldn't see my face, and slid off the other side of the building I'd been sitting on. I lingered for a while longer before hearing something about a team who was out of town. _The Heartfilia princess must be part of that team. I'll tell Juvia she's not here right now so she can report it to Jose._ With that thought, I headed back to the Rain Woman's hotel. No point wasting any more time watching these scum cry like the weaklings they were.


	7. Attack

I stopped for a snack at a shop on the way to the Rain Woman's hotel; it'd been a while since I'd eaten at the Fairies' guildhall, and the ice cream the day before hadn't filled me up much either. I paid for a sandwich, and stole a bunch of silverware when the shopkeeper wasn't looking. _Gihi, fool._ Walking outside, I climbed up onto the roof and sat down to eat. As I finished, my sharp hearing picked up a faint voice that instantly had my hackles up. I stood, running across the rooftops towards the sound. _There!_ I crouched in a shadow, watching the tiny bluenette walking along the street with her dual shadows. _That idiot's fish tail looks so stupid, it makes me laugh every time I see it, even though I just want to punch his face._ I followed them for a while, listening to them yap.

"You sure this is okay? Shouldn't you stay at the girls dorm with Laki and the others?" The speedster was asking the shrimpy woman.

"It's fine!" She explained happily, "I don't want to split up the team!" The idiots swooned as she said that, and I could smell their excitement. _Gihi, those fools think she wants them, but there's no attraction at all coming from her scent..._

"The three of us can face anything together!" One idiot said. "I'll always protect you!" The other replied. They started bickering back and forth, "No! I will!" _Tch! We'll see about that._ I leapt off the roof, planting my feet into the boys' backs as I landed. I used them as a spring board, leaping forward to grab the bluenette's arm as she spun around. I threw her into a wall and whirled to deal with her groupies, who were just pushing themselves off the ground.

"What the hell? Who are you?" Fish-tail yelled at me. I just grinned maliciously and turned my arm into a club, smashing it into his face. I laughed as I heard the bitch scream behind me. The speedster tried to rush me, and I just laughed again. "Iron Dragon's Club!" I yelled, my foot shooting out as a pillar and smashing into his leg. _Not gonna be runnin' again any time soon._

"Solid Script: Rocks!" I heard yelled out behind me, and felt something collide with my back. I stumbled forward, and looked around surprised. There was a pile of letters made out of rock on the ground behind me, the little bluenette standing with a pen raised in her hand. She was shaking so bad, I was amazed she was still standing. I grinned again, baring my teeth at her and she shrunk back. Rushing forward, I grabbed her arm and slammed a fist into her stomach, knocking her into the wall again. I picked up her pen from where she'd dropped it on the ground and crushed it in my fist. This time, her head colliding with the wall had knocked her out. I looked around for more attacks, but the weaklings were all down.

"Aww, ya protected her for sure, ya asshole! Gihi!" I leaned down, and grabbed the groupies by their legs, and the bitch by her arm. _Can't leave 'em here in this alley. No one will ever see my handiwork._ I thought, chuckling to myself again. I dragged them to a park I'd smelled nearby, and dropped them in a pile. I used the blood from her head wound to draw the Phantom Lord guild mark on her bare stomach, and picked the girl up by her throat, hearing her whimper. I tossed her towards the biggest tree in the park, then shot metal strips across her arms, pinning her up in the air. I repeated this with her lapdogs, then walked away.

"Aah, that was fun!" I got back to the hotel and gave Juvia her information before I headed for the train station. "Hopefully I will get to thrash some more Fairies before too long."


	8. A Guidling Light

It's been a few weeks now, since Fairy Tail declared war on Phantom Lord because of my actions. They destroyed us, that Salamander kicking my ass worse than I'd have thought possible.

That crazy old man came and found me a few days ago. I'd retreated back to a scrapyard I knew about, sulking if I was being honest with myself. Juvia sent him to find me, I guess, because she was worried about me. Even though I'd done such terrible things to his guild, he invited me to join.

_"There are people in this world who enjoy being alone, but there isn't a single person who can bear solitude." He told me._

_"I destroyed your guild." I stated._   
_"I don't care about that anymore." This geezer is insane!_   
_"And your members..." I replied, frowning._   
_"You hurt them, and no matter what happens, I will not forgive you for that. But, if I were to ignore a young man attempting to fall into darkness, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself even more."_

I came to find Juvia first, and ask her what the hell she'd been thinking, sending him after me.

"Ya know I don't need no help, woman! 'Specially from these scum! What'd you send Makarov after me for?" I yelled at her. I knew I shouldn't, she's the closest thing I had to a friend, but I was angry. And tired. I hadn't felt safe enough to sleep lately, and every time I did, that stupid Salamander beating me would play over again in my mind.

"Gajeel-kun was always so lonely at Phantom, because he couldn't trust people. The Fairy Tail guild is full of good wizards, and good people! Juvia thought Gajeel should give them a chance. If the Love Rival and Gray-sama could forgive Juvia after she kidnapped Lucy and fought with Juvia's beloved, surely they could forgive Gajeel-kun for destroying their guild!" Wow. She must feel strongly about this, for Juvia to talk so much...  _Come to think of it,_ I looked around,  _it's not raining. I've known Juvia for years, and it's always rained when she's around._

I sighed, "I didn't just destroy their hall, Juv. I almost killed people." I muttered, looking at the ground. Juvia gasped.

"Juvia had heard rumor, but she did not believe Gajeel-kun had done such a thing! Why? How could you hurt people for Jose? Juvia thought Gajeel-kun hated Master's orders!" I couldn't meet her eyes. Couldn't see the horror I heard in her voice.

"Ya saw what happened the last time I let Fairies go. Jose had Aria almost kill me, an' then let those other bastards try. I couldn't take the chance of those scum makin' me look weak again!" I clenched my fists, then took a deep breath to calm myself. I looked up quickly, smelling that now familiar paper and ink smell. "Ya've been around her. The shrimp."

"Shrimp? Gajeel-kun must mean Levy? Yes, she's a very nice girl." Juvia smiled at me, "Well, Master Makarov still invited you to be part of Fairy Tail. Maybe Gajeel can see for himself how strong and good these people are. They're not what Master Jose told us." With that, Juvia walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

_"This is not 'salvation' it's simply a guiding light to tomorrow. Continue or stop dead. You will make that decision on your own."_

* * *

I had a usual table now, tucked away in a corner where it wasn't obvious I was here. The stench of fear was not as bad when these fools could forget I was around. Juvia came back from stalking her ice boy yesterday, and had been happy to see me. Probably the only one. Every now and then I'd hear angry mutters and look around to see Fish-tail and the speedster glaring at me. Their shrimpy friend, Levy, was usually hiding behind one of them, or the nearest wall. One of these days, I knew they were gonna work up the guts to call me out, try to redeem themselves in her eyes. I could smell their fear, their regret for not protecting her. I didn't know where they were today though, I hadn't heard anything from them yet.

These thoughts were interrupted by the doors opening, someone talking like they were giving a tour. Sounded like that booze hound wench talking.  _Tch, whatever._ I turned back to my food, when I heard the old man talking about Juvia joining Fairy Tail.

"Hey, come introduce yourself!" I heard the old man yell at me, right as I caught the scent of the Salamander. I shifted in my seat, keeping my face passive and uninterested. The Salamander's group all started yelling, arguing with the Master about me being here.

"Hmph." I looked away from them, and noticed the Shrimp peeking around the corner from the pool yard. Even without my sense of smell bringing me her fear, or my enhanced hearing picking up her heart racing, I could tell she was terrified.

"Uh-huh... I'm n-not bothered at all, really!" I heard her say in a small voice. Her idiots looked at the ground ashamed for a moment, before fixing glares at me.  _They're comical, really._

"Stop screwing around! I can't work with a guy like that!" The Salamander stomping up to me yelling pulled my attention back to the scene in front of me.

"Oh, don't worry. I have no intention of being all buddy-buddy with ya. I need work; that's all there is to it. One guild is as good as the next. Not that I ever thought I'd end up workin' at a nasty little guild like this" I growled at him, crossing my arms over my chest. The tension continued to build between us, and I wondered if we were about to throw down again, when someone grabbed him by the back of his shirt and forced him to sit down.

"Hurry up and take a seat! The main event is about to start!" The lush of a woman was yelling as she pushed him to the table. I sat back down, my food being next to where she seated the Salamander. The lights went out, and the demon wench came on stage and started singing. Everyone was enjoying the song, and some of these emotional fools were even tearing up. I sighed to myself, bored _._ I glanced over and smirked to myself... Picking up my foot, I stomped on the Salamander's, driving a small spike out of the sole of my boot. He yelled, and jumped up onto the table.

"What the hell was that for? You did that on purpose!" He screamed, right as someone threw some mugs at us. Next thing I knew, beer mugs and tables were flying across the room. I grinned, and started throwing punches along with most of the other guys in the guild. I took a hit from the Titania, who was yelling something about cake?  _Maybe this place isn't so bad after all..._


	9. Retribution and Rage

The next day, I went to the job board and saw that blonde, Lucy whatever, looking at jobs. I don't know why, but I snatched the one she was reaching for before she could get it. She whined at me for a minute before I walked away. Before I could get to the door, the speedster popped up in front of me.

"Meet me in the park by the biggest tree," he said, before running off again. I didn't see or smell the shrimp anywhere, or fish-tail. Well, I'd been expecting this, really. I stuffed my job request in my bag, and stomped out to the park.

As I walked up, I saw the tiny woman step away from her groupies and hide behind the tree. The idiots saw her movement, and turned, watching me approach.

"So what's the deal?" I asked. "Why'd ya ask me to meet ya out here anyway? Make it fast, I gotta get to work."

"We got a bone to pick with you." The speedster said.  _Man that hat he wears looks ridiculous. I just can't take him seriously..._

"After what you did to us, there's no way we're lettin' you join our guild!"  _Ugh, does he intentionally do his hair that way? Maybe he's just never realized it's like that?_

"C'mon guys, can't you just forgive and forget?" I asked.  _Almost called them idiots. That probably wouldn't have been the best thing to do. They're trying to gain some honor back, I think._

Then I hear the shrimp pipe up from behind her tree. "Maybe he's right. I mean, now that he's in the guild, he's not gonna do it again."  _Man her voice shakes a lot. I can smell her fear from here, and she's downwind_...

"We gotta let him know..."  
"He can't mess with us."  _That's cute, they finish each other's sentences._ I couldn't hold back the grin this time.

"That's right, go ahead and act tough, while you still can!" The speedster yelled as he charged at me. I forced myself to stay relaxed and still, rolling back with the hit.

"Secret seed! Knuckle plant!" Fish-tail threw some seeds at the ground, and vines with fists flew up to punch me. I could have blocked them, probably should have, but I didn't. A little bruise was nothing compared to what I'd had before. Hell, it was nothing compared to what I'd done to them.

The wind shifted, and I thought I smelled the old man coming, but his scent was weird.  _Damn. He'll interrupt us and I'll have to go through it all again some day to satisfy them._

"You had enough yet?" Cocky number one asked.

"What happened to the tough guy act?"  _Well, it's hard to act tough when you're letting a punk with a fish shaped pony tail beat you up with a plant..._

"You're not givin' the new guy a hard time, are ya?" It wasn't the geezer, but this new jerk smelled like him. Well, smelled like him if you'd electrocuted the old man. "Laxus..." The groupies muttered as they turned to the newcomer.

"But, seein' how this is the punk that tore down the guildhall, I understand how you feel. We've become the laughingstock of the magic community because of you! Every where I've stopped, I've heard people talking about how weak Fairy Tail is. They never would have said that about us before YOU CAME ALONG!" As he yelled this last at me, lightning shot down from the sky and struck me. It was excruciating!  _Shit! I should have known._  That scar on his eye, and those stupid headphones. Who else could he have been? I still didn't fight back, or try to dodge. Honestly, I'm not sure I could have. But even if I could, he had a right to retribution too.

"Now, you're gonna pay!" Laxus growled at me, as he slammed his fists into the ground at his feet. A bolt of lightning shot out from them and propelled me across the park, tearing a trench in my wake.

"Uuuuugh!"  _I don't think I can even stand right now. I hope this is worth it._  My ears were ringing now, and my whole body was numb, but I faintly heard the loser with the crazy hat yell at my attacker. "You're taking this too far. Calm down, man!"

Even quieter, I hear the fish man mutter, "I know Laxus is strong and all, but something's not right. It seems like Gajeel's going down too easily." _Oh, ya finally caught on, did ya?_

The bluenette had her hands over her mouth, like she was trying not to scream. Why should she care what happens to me?

"He's letting them get their anger out on him." How is it I could hear her whisper so clearly, but everything else was still muffled? I fixed my eyes on her, "I think he's trying to gain our acceptance."

"You never should have messed with Fairy Tail, punk," Laxus was still coming at me, oblivious to the three standing near him. "'Cause now you're gonna have to deal with ME!" He yelled once again, as he called more lighting down on me.  _This one's really gonna hurt tomorrow._

I heard over the ringing in my ears, "Give it a rest Laxus, leave him alone!" I couldn't even tell who it was though. The smell of my hair burning was filling my nose, making me want to hurl.

"I'm not taking orders from you!" In a crazed state, the man whirled around, firing lightning at the group who'd yelled at him. I still don't know how I got there first. I don't even know how I moved. But suddenly I found myself between the lighting and the tiny woman. My arm was a metal pole, pulling the lightning to myself. Somehow I knew if it'd hit her, she wouldn't be getting up again.

"Ya through with me now?" I choked out, absorbing my metal back into my body. "'Cause I got other things to do." With that, I started to limp away, dragging my bag with me.  
"Gajeel! I-"  
"Just leave me alone." I interrupted her. I didn't want to hear anything else from them. Not for a long time.


	10. Surprises

I walked away from my humiliation as quickly as possible, trying not to limp. Now that I was standing it wasn't so bad, but I also knew if I stopped, I'd fall. Then, there's no telling when I'd be able to stand up again. I wanted to be well away from those assholes before that happened. Stumbling around the guildhall, I slumped against the wall and slid down behind some bushes.  _Damn, that lightning hurts._  No one should be able to see me, so I closed my eyes, just for a minute.

Opening my eyes, I saw that it was nearly dark.  _Well, there's that whole day wasted._ I started to stand and realized there was a pile of metal by my leg. I looked around to see if anyone was nearby, but the yard was empty. Taking a deep breath, I caught the faint smell of paper and ink. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the metal was in the shape of letters.

"Well, that's strange... Letters?" I picked up the metal and sniffed it again.

"Ah, that's right. That's the shrimp's smell." I didn't recognize it at first because the smell of her goons wasn't mixed in.  _Man, she smells good._   _There's something fruity to her unique smell._  I shook myself. Why do I care what she smells like? I took a few bites of the metal, realizing it was iron. "Mmm, strawberries." Iron and strawberry? Interesting. I'd never been able to get flavors in the metal before.

"I guess I should get goin' on this job, then." I was talking to myself mostly because I wanted to talk to  **somebody.** I kept to myself around the guildhall, using sarcasm when I did need to speak to someone. I've made myself out to be an idiot for so long, it's kind of second nature now. The dumber people think I am, the easier they are to manipulate. But, you don't become strong and survive in a guild like Phantom without a brain, so I've studied and learned a lot of diverse skills. Somehow Jose never caught on.

"The hell? Mentoring kids? Geez Gajeel, what've ya gotten yerself into now?" I ate the rest of the iron and stood up, sticking the flier back in my bag. "Well, may as well get to it." I stomped off in the direction of my job. The iron from the little wizard really helped my energy level. I shouldn't have been up and moving already, as beat as I was by the lighting bastard.  _Maybe because it was created by magic?_

I walked up to the building housing my job, and beat on the door. It kind of looked like an old warehouse. I thought about trying to look less mean, but decided against it. That is, until the door was opened. A timid little girl peeked around the door with big green eyes. Immediately, I squatted down to her level. I'm not huge on dealing with kids, but I don't really like making them cry, either. "Hey girlie, is yer mom or dad here? Or yer teacher? Or... Why are ya cryin'?!" She'd burst into tears as I mentioned parents.  _Oh great, what now?!_ I saw someone pull the girl away from the door, and an angry young man whipped it open, trying to see what caused her tears.

This new kid and the little girl smelled similar, like they could be related. It could just be because they lived in this building together. I don't know exactly. Scents are a funny thing. As I processed all of this, I had stood back up. I smelled the underlying fear in this boy, as he took in my height, and my piercings that normally scared people. I've been told my red eyes are unnerving, too. I had to give the kid props though. He may have been afraid, but he was still blocking the doorway, and putting on a good face.

"I'm here 'bout the mentoring job?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "Is the adult who posted it here?" The boy pushed his red hair out of his face, and puffed out his chest. "I posted it... But how do I know you're an official wizard?" I turned so he could see the guild mark on my shoulder, watching his eyes widen in surprise. He looked me over again, and for some reason decided I wasn't a threat anymore. When he stepped back from the door, I took it as an invitation, and walked inside. Then it was my turn to be surprised.


	11. Orphans

The room I walked into was instantly silent. Not just, people-aren't-talking silent. They'd stopped talking, moving, some were trying not to breathe, even. I looked back at the boy who let me in, one eyebrow raised. The fear in the room was so strong I could almost taste it. The redhead still had his chest puffed out, trying to maintain his pride. I cleared my throat, "So, what's my job details?"

"We want to learn magic to defend ourselves. We're tired of being beat up. It's not our faults we have to beg or steal in order to eat. It's not our faults we were left with nothing! It's not our faults nobody wants us! It's not-" he suddenly stopped, choking back tears that I don't think he meant to let me see. I turned back to the room to give him a chance to get control. There were about fifteen kids, looking to be from six to fourteen; the boy behind me was probably the oldest.

"Does anyone already have any skill with magic?" I asked, assessing my new students. There wasn't any doubt in my mind that I would teach these kids. I would have been just like them, if it hadn't been for Metalicana. He'd found me wandering around when I was five, I don't know anything about my life before that. He may have been a bastard, and a tyrant, but it was because he'd taught me that I could survive on my own.

A small boy with black hair raised his hand. "I can use magic," he muttered quietly. He looked about ten years old, but he was still tiny. I beckoned him forward, and looked around to see if anyone else said anything. "Me too!" chirped a little voice, and the girl who opened the door earlier popped back up next to me. A second boy was shuffling around to the side like he wanted to say something, but never got the courage.

"Alright, not a bad start. What kind of magic do ya have, and what kind are ya brats wantin' to learn?" I found a chair and sat in it as the room exploded into noise. The fear started to leave them immediately, which surprised me. The multiple piercings paired with my red eyes and my height usually had people afraid of me for a long time, if they ever actually stopped being scared. But these kids... Well, they'd probably seen worse than me before. I raised a hand to get them to stop babbling.

"I can use d- um... shadow magic" the black haired boy said. I looked at him for a moment, trying to figure out what he'd almost said at first. He met my gaze with red eyes. It felt like I was looking into a mirror. "Okay, show me. And what's yer name?"

"I'm Ryos." He stepped back, and I saw his brow furrow in concentration. After a few second, a shadow started to hover around him, making it hard to see him. He stopped his demonstration, and I could see that he was proud of what he could do. The ring leader spoke up, "Ryos is the reason we're all here, really. He can make his shadows big enough to hide more than one person, and he's used that to help bring in new kids." He seemed awfully proud of his young friend.

"And I help too!" The little voice chirped. "How'sat, little bird?" I really liked this perky little kid. She stuck her tongue out at me. "I'm not a bird! But, I can fly! Sort of." I just watched her for a minute, waiting for her demonstration. She huffed, closed her eyes, then jumped a little, and disappeared. I smelled her on my other side, but waited for her to say something. "Boo!" I pretended to jump when she yelled, making her giggle.

"So, little bird, ya teleport? That's useful, fer sure." She puffed out her cheeks, "I'm not a bird! My name's Sam!" She shook her red hair out of her eyes, and looked at me defiantly. "Gihi, okay Sam. But, I think you'll still be my little bird, 'cause ya chirp like one, and ya fly. Sort of." I gave her a grin, careful not to show her how sharp my teeth are. They tend to scare kids too.

"Right!" I looked at the kids surrounding me. "Can any of ya read? Or write?" Their eyes all dropped to their bare feet. "Nossir..." Ryos muttered. I frowned, and did a count while they were so still. There were twelve of these brats, altogether. And not one of them could read or write. "Okay, I can do somethin' about that. Do ya have some paper, for now? I want to write yer names and what kind of magic ya wanna learn." Red gave me a piece of paper and a stub of charcoal. "This'll work." I spent the next twenty minutes talking to them one on one, getting their ages, their names, and what they thought they could learn.  _Oh boy. What have I gotten myself into?_


	12. Miss Fairy Tail

I finally left the brats early the next morning. They tended to stay awake all night anyway, since it's easier to steal from shops at night. There were a few of them who would steal during the day, but they were staying in today. I carried my bag of jewel, so if the old geezer asked about my job I could prove I did it. As much as he watches me, I had to be careful. There's no way I would tell anyone about these kids, no telling what would happen to them. It's too easy for kids to end up in the wrong place, like I did with Phantom. They had a good thing going, or at least, they had a nice little family. They would have a good thing going by the time I was done with 'em.

I looked up and realized I was passing a bookstore. The sign said it wouldn't open for a few more hours, so I looked around to make sure no one was watching me. I walked into an alley by the building and scaled the wall, growing spikes out of my hands and feet to climb. I carefully made a pick out of my finger and unlocked a second story window and climbed in. Not surprisingly, it smelled like the shrimp in here.  _Huh. I wonder why that even crossed my mind?_ I shook my head and looked around. With my enhanced senses, the low light was plenty for me to see with. I searched out books on teaching magic, and a few on learning to read. Sticking these into my bag, I headed back towards the window. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an ancient looking book. Judging by how strong her scent was in the store, even above the normal ink-and-paper smell, the shrimp had spent quite a bit of time around this book.

I looked around outside, and not seeing anyone, I jumped to the ground. "At this point, I could get a few hours of sleep before the start of that stupid festival." There was some event starting that the guild takes part in, apparently. Juvia had been nagging me to at least put in an appearance. The beginning was a beauty contest, and there were several women in my new guild that I wouldn't mind seeing compete.  _Gihi, they're ALL an improvement over the trolls in Phantom. That's one thing this guild has going for it._ Juvia had been one of the few women in the old guild, and she was the only one who had been remotely pretty. Yeah, I could put in an appearance for the contest, for sure.

* * *

The sun came pouring into my window, hitting me in the eyes a lot earlier than I'd wanted it to. I rolled over, groaning. After a few minutes of futile hope, I decided I wasn't going over get any more sleep. It was too light, and with the sun hitting me, I was too hot to sleep.  _May as well get up,_  I thought to myself, crawling out of bed. I turned my shower on, and stepped in before it was warm, letting the cold wake me up. I stood in the shower longer than I needed to, planning out my first lessons with the orphans. By the time I had it all sorted the water was getting cold again. I shut it off and stepped out, wrapping a towel around my hips and using another one to dry my hair.

"I guess I've stalled long enough. May as well go before Juvia comes looking for me." The rain woman seems to have adopted me as her good deed or something. She was determined to make sure I wasn't alone or something. When she wasn't stalking her "beloved" Popsicle, she was nagging me to make friends. Well, I guess I could tell her now that I'd made some. She wouldn't tell anyone about the orphans either. She'd hated Phantom too, but once you're there, you couldn't just leave.

Getting dressed, I stomped out of my house and headed for the guildhall. The town was packed today, and I felt uneasy. There wasn't really a reason, but something had my hackles up. I put it off as a result of all the extra people. There were too many for my hearing to be able to tell if anyone was following me, or my nose to single out any particular scents. I rolled my shoulders and forced myself to relax. The doors to the hall were thrown open to all the guests and a good breeze, so I slipped in without anyone noticing. I grabbed a beer and some bolts someone had left on a plate on the counter. Probably that Mirajane chick. She was ridiculously nice. If I didn't know her reputation, I'd have called her a fool; being nice just gets you trouble.

I found a table no one was sitting at and parked my ass out of the way. I started munching on my metal just as the pageant started. First up was the booze hound. She had on simple clothes, and I wondered how she was trying to impress anyone. It was more clothes than she usually wore, actually. She suddenly threw her cards into the air, and as her magic swirled them around her, changed into a bikini.  _Eh, now she looks like her usual self._ Nothin' she didn't wear every day.

The next contestant was Juvia. I hadn't known she was actually competing. She magicked water around her body and when it was settled had changed into a bikini as well. She was yelling something about the Popsicle watching her. That stupid stripper was talking to the Salamander about something.  _I don't think he even has a clue how much Juvia loves him._

Mirajane was up next. She told us she was going to exhibit her magic, and then transformed her head into the Salamander's annoying blue cat. It was pretty funny, actually. Then, just as I took a drink, she changed her head again. Into mine. I couldn't help the snort of laughter that shot beer out of my nose and mouth. I think I was the only one who was laughing though.

Next was the Titania. She marched out in her armor, and stood with confidence. Murmurs erupted around the room about the strongest woman in Fairy Tail. She wasn't bad looking, really. Her hair was about the same color of my eyes, and she truly was strong. Almost as strong as me, I think. She used her requip magic to change too, into a Lolita outfit. She walked offstage to cheers and hoots from the crowd.

I can't explain the weird jolt that went through my stomach when number five came out. The tiny wizard had a huge smile on her face, which was so different from the fear I usually saw. She threw her arms up, and words exploded into the air behind her. It was refreshing that she wasn't trying to be sexy by copying the girls who went before her. I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she walked back offstage.  _Gihi, not a bad one to watch leave..._

As a cowgirl started her routine, I started to space out. That weird feeling that something was off was creeping into my head again. I walked over towards then bar to grab a new beer, since I'd spit the last of mine out earlier. As I did, I heard gasps and people yelling. I looked back to see all of the spectators who weren't part of Fairy Tail running from the room screaming, and the blonde princess turned to stone.

There was a brunette in glasses standing next to her, trying to be coy with a fan in front of her face. A guild mark declared from her barely covered breast that she was a member of Fairy Tail. The geezer was yelling at her, asking if she was trying to ruin the festival. "Doesn't a festival need to have a main show?" She asked haughtily. The curtain fell behind her, revealing the rest of the girls, all stone statues as well.

"You fool! Turn them back to normal!" The geezer yelled. Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning, and my hair stood more on end than usual. I knew that smell. When the light faded from my eyes, I saw Laxus standing on stage with a man with green hair, and one who was wearing weird armor that covered his whole face except his mouth. Laxus smirked, "The  **real** festival begins now!"


	13. Fighting Festival

_"The_ _real_ _festival begins now!"_

"LAXUS!" Old man Makarov yelled at the stage. "Freed and Bickslow!" Someone yelled. I looked towards the voice, and saw a black haired wizard.  _He's the one who strips all the time._ _Juvia's Popsicle_ _._ I rolled my eyes and turned back towards the bar.

"Why don't we play a game, old geezer?" Laxus sneered at his grandfather. "Don't do something stupid, we have to get ready for Fantasia. Turn them back to normal, now!" Makarov looked ready to pop a vein. "Fantasia? That's not until tonight. If we hurry, people might still get to see it." Laxus sounded amused. Lightning arced down from the ceiling, aimed straight for the blonde princess. "STOP IT!" Makarov's face was almost purple. At the last second, the bolt curved and missed the statue of Lucy.

Laxus walked up to her with a sly smirk and threw his arm around her stone shoulders. "I'll take these girls as my hostages. If anyone breaks the rules, I'll break one of these statues. Like I said, this is the main show!"

"There are things that can't be taken as a joke, Laxus!" I didn't think the geezer could look any more angry. As I finally reached the bar, the Lightning asshole's goons were piping up, "It's just a game, to find out who..." one said, "is the strongest here in Fairy Tail!" the other finished.

"The rules are simple," Laxus stated. "The last survivor wins! The Battle of Fairy Tail begins now!" I was turning to look over my shoulder again, to see the reactions of the Fairies when table went flying into the air. "Isn't this great?!" Natsu stood where the table had previously been. "This is way too simple! I'm all fired up!"  _Tch. Of course he'd be excited._ "Natsu. Your attitude really pisses me off!" Blondie snarled at the Salamander. The pink haired idiot smiled even bigger and ripped off his jacket. He took off running at Laxus, people trying to talk him out it. "Did you forget how badly you were beaten by Laxus the last time?!"

"I was just a little kid then!" Salamander explained, not slowing at all. "Wasn't that just last year?!"  _Gihi_.  _This should be funny. "_ Calm down, Natsu..." That was the only warning he got, then he was struck by a bolt of lightning that hit him so hard it knocked him out. No one else was laughing, so I didn't, but I wanted to.

"If you want them returned normal, you'll have to defeat us." The brunette woman said, waving a hand fan around.

"There's only four of us, you have almost a hundred people. It's not fair for us."  _Man that guy is weird._ The lackey in the helmet's tongue was hanging out of his mouth like a dog.  _Whatever._ I thought.  _These losers aren't my problem._ I jumped over the bar, and knelt down on the floor, looked for something metal to eat on the shelves. I'd stay nearby, so if those asses decided to do something to Juvia, I could stop them. Or the shrimp. She'd come to enough harm recently.

I found a pile of tin plates.  _Jackpot._ Tin isn't my favorite, but it works. I was storing up as much magic energy as I could, just in case I needed to fight. I settled onto the floor, and leaned back against the shelves as I started eating. I heard the geezer and the stripper yelling about a magic barrier that kept the old man from leaving. I stopped listening for a while. Crunching metal doesn't bother me at all, but it IS noisy, so it takes an effort to listen over it sometimes.

Suddenly, I heard a yell that almost brought me to my feet. It stopped just as quickly, and I heard the Salamander ask, "Where is Laxus?! Where are all the people? What happened, Gramps?!" There was silence for a minute, but I couldn't tell from my position what was happening. "The fighting festival has started! Laxus is in the town!" The geezer yelled.

"GOT IT! JUST YOU WAIT, LAXUS!" I heard the flame-brain's steps as he ran towards to door, but they stopped, as if he ran into something. "Why can't I get out?!" He whined. "What the hell is this?!" I heard the geezer yell back. "Why did they fight each other?" I lifted myself enough to look over the bar, and saw that there were runes in the doorway giving a battle report. I dropped back to the floor.  _Gajeel, you don't care about these idiots. Just ignore them._

I halfway listened to the updates Makarov and Natsu were reading to each other, as their comrades fought each other. The salamander seemed to be frustrated that he couldn't join in the fighting, but the geezer was just getting desperate. I could smell his despair from here. It mingled with his anger, leaving a bitter scent in my nose.

"This is stupid. He's obviously just bluffing." Pinkie sounded sure of this opinion. "Oh you think I'm bluffing, do you Natsu?" I jumped, startled because I hadn't heard him come in. "It's a psychic projection!" I heard Natsu's cat say.

"What're you still here for, Natsu?" Laxus asked. "SHUT UP! I CAN'T GET PAST THE WALL!"  _Man they're annoying._ I decided to close my eyes for a minute, but their prattling kept me from sleep. I finally couldn't ignore them anymore. "Isn't there somebody who can defeat Laxus?!" The geezer growled. I grabbed a last mouthful of metal and grabbed the counter, pulling myself up. "I'll do it." I mumbled around the metal in my mouth. "Don't eat the tableware!" The little blue cat screeched at me.

I could see some hope in the geezer's face as he asked me if I could handle this challenge. "I've got a bone to pick with that guy anyway. Leave it to me." I said without looking back as I walked out. Or, at least, I tried to. Instead, I ran into a wall that I couldn't see. "NOT YOU TOO!" Natsu screamed at me. I yelled back, "THE HELL IS THIS?!" Why couldn't I get past this doorway?!

 


	14. Ezra

"Why the hell can't you leave?! Stop copying me!" The pink haired idiot thought I was doing this on purpose?! "Like I know! Yer pissing me off now, dammit! I'm not doin' anything!" I yelled back, crossing my arms so I didn't punch him in his stupid face.

"Two?" The geezer yelled over us. "Don't tell me it's just these two left!" The blue cat was flying around whining about not being included. The old man was shaking, staring at the floor. "Is this the end?" I heard him mutter. The Salamander growled. "Ahh, fine! I'll just go revive Erza." He stomped toward the stage where the statue girls were, muttering, "just when I thought I had a chance to one-up her."

"Wait a second, how do you mean to?!" The Master yelled after him. Natsu turned around. "If I burn it, it'll come off, right? The stone or whatever." He and the geezer were yelling back and forth as the Salamander lit his hands on fire and placed them on the Titania's chest. "Havin' fun with yer hands there, Salamander?" I snickered. Just as he was about to reply, we heard a crack. "Aaaahh! Crap, crap! I cracked her! Happy, get glue, we need glue!" His cat flew away yelling, "Aye, sir!" I rolled my eyes.

"Idiot! Ya think that'd fix it? Obviously we need to use yer fire to melt my iron and we'll weld her back together!" The tiny crack on her forehead grew longer.

"Aaaaaagh! I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" The flame-brain was groveling at Erza's feet. Suddenly, there was a shattering sound, and the stone disappeared, leaving her sitting unharmed on the stage. "I feel hot... Was that you, Natsu?" Her question came out in a very dark voice. "What the hell were you playing at?!" She yelled as she leapt to her feet, swinging a punch into his jaw. The momentum of her punch knocked him into me, and we both went flying.

As I shook my head clear from the ringing in my ears, I heard Erza tell the old man that she heard everything while she's been a statue. "Now that I'm back in action, the number of combatants has changed as well. Clever little setup. So, that's three people - Natsu, Gajeel, and myself." I looked to the runes that displayed details of the fights, and watched as it ticked up once again, stopping at 4. "It went up?" Natsu whipped around to glare at the stage. "Who?! Everyone is still stone, so who?!"

The scarlet haired wizard in front of me grinned. "It looks like THAT man has decided to join in the battle as well. Mystogan." Erza took off out the door.  _How come she can leave, but I can't?!_  Not long after, the runes told us she was fighting with the bitch, Evergreen. I kept an eye on the statues, to see if anything changed as the fight went. Within minutes of their fight starting, the runes updated, and the statues on stage simultaneously turned back into the girls. "Huh? What's going on? Where?" Their questions were a jumble, overlapping each other. "LUCY!" The cat cried as he launched himself at the blonde.

I glanced at the two bluenettes on stage, but they both seemed fine. I looked at the runes again, and the number grew to ten. I walked back to the door as the old man explained to them what was going on. "Who wants to try me?! Huh?!" I turned around to the Salamander blowing flames out of his mouth and trying to pick a fight with the girls. I must have spaced out for a minute, I had no idea what started him going again. "I mean, we haven't even done anything! Bring on the fights!"

He was throwing punches in the air, an excited grin on his face. "Stop that, please. I can't tell if your joking or not." The blondie was whining at him. "Hell, if ya really want to, I wouldn't mind giving you a round!" The brunette lush snarked at him. "Cana! Don't encourage him!"

"What's wrong Gajeel-kun?" The rain woman had come up next to me as I watched the morons bickering. "Nothin'." She smiled at me, "This guild is a lot of fun, isn't it?"  _Heh. At least they aren't boring._ I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. "They're fuckin' crazy." Just then, the room filled with enchanted boards displaying a skull with a lightning bolt through its eye.

"Can ya hear me, old man? And everyone from the guild, too... It looks like we've lost one of our rules, so I'm instating a new one. So as to keep this battle moving, I've activated the Thunder Palace. You only have an hour and ten minutes. Do you think you can defeat us? Or are ya gonna play nice and retire? Master" You could hear the sneer in the last word as Laxus' voice faded out laughing.

"What are you thinking, Laxus?! Are you trying to drag innocent civilians into this?!" The geezer was screaming at the sky, but stopped suddenly, grasping the coat over his heart. "Hrk!" He grunted as he fell to the ground. "Gramps!"

 


	15. Levy

_"What are you thinking, Laxus?! Are you trying to drag innocent civilians into this?!" The geezer was screaming at the sky, but stopped suddenly, grasping the coat over his heart. "Hrk!" He grunted as he fell to the ground. "Gramps!"_

Mira took off to grab the Master's medicine, as the other girls crowded around him, trying to revive the old man. Flame-brain was still trying to get answers from the unconscious senior citizen. "What is the Thunder Palace?! Gramps?!"

"It's terrible, everyone! Look outside!" Mirajane yelled as she sprinted back into the room. The girls and the hothead sprinted out onto a balcony, and I walked out behind them. The cowgirl was whipping out her sniper rifle, and aiming at some lacrima that were floating in the sky. She shot one, and the lightning branded orb exploded. Everyone was cheering for her, when her face suddenly contorted and she started screaming. Electricity was arcing all over her body, and she collapsed, writhing on the ground.

"Body link magic?!" The boozer yelled. I gotta admit, for a drunk, she seems to know a lot. "Those things are spelled so that any damage done to them links back to the attacker! At this rate, everyone in the town will... We've gotta take out Laxus himself, that's the only choice left! Try to evacuate the townspeople!" Most of the women ran back inside, and then out of the hall. The bookworm stayed, crouched down by her wounded friend.

"What the hell is that asshole thinking?!" Salamander was angry. He almost looked as mad as he'd been when he and I had fought before. He jumped over the balcony railing, sliding down the roof until he hit the enchantment. He started slamming his fists, his feet, and even his head into the invisible wall. "If you really wanna be Master that bad, fight the old man yourself! Give it up already, Laxus!"

"Natsu, stop! Calm down!" Shrimp was yelling at the idiot on the roof. "Like hell I will!" The bluenette grinned. "It's an enchantment!" I crossed my arms over my chest. "Thank you Captain Obvious. I thought you were the smart one." I remarked. She ignored me, looking confident as she said, "That's a form of written magic! I might be able to do something about it!"  _Oh. Way to be an ass, Gajeel._

"Seriously, Levy?!" Natsu yelled as he hopped back onto the balcony with us. "I have faith that the two of you will be able to stop Laxus!" She smiled at us both, surprising me. I didn't smell any of the usual fear on her. Having something to do seemed to have distracted her from it. We followed her back inside, and within minutes she had books scattered across the floor. Flame-brain went back to pounding on the invisible wall, and I squatted next to the tiny woman to watch her work.

She was down on her hands and knees, hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail. I was trying, really, not to stare at her ass. She had it up in the air as she balanced on her elbows so she could turn pages and take notes. She was muttering, "break down...basic character material... Identify..." Her voice was getting louder. "L, O, S, U... Now, if we map those into basic guile grammar..." I moved my gaze to her face. "Yer incredible, ya know that? We speak the same language, but I can't understand a word yer sayin'."

"No!" I jumped as she whipped around and pointed a finger at me. "The L and S are a bluff! The key code is 'Als'!" She was so intense. "R-right. I see..." I said. I didn't want to interrupt her train of thought.

"Don't worry, I'll have you guys out of here in no time." She said as she turned back to taking notes. She tucked some of her hair that had fallen back behind her ear.  _Damn. She's cute like that._ I shook my head and looked away to clear those thoughts. "It's not like I really care-"

"Please. You have to stop Laxus." I looked back to find her staring at me.  _Her eyes are so focused. So intense. They're..._ I found myself nodding, agreeing to what she asked me. I decided in that moment that she was a purely good person, and I resolved to never let her be hurt again. Especially not because of me.

The salamander gave me an excuse to look away as he started pounding even harder on the boundary. There were more fights popping up, and his blonde girl was one of them. "Yer kidding me?! That Bunny-girl could actually fight?!" I yelled, jumping up as I saw her fight's result. "I'm sure Lucy's pretty strong," the idiot mumbled. I could tell he was proud, and frustrated that he wasn't getting to fight.

"No way! I mean, she's a freakin' bunny!" She'd shown up at the guildhall in a bunny suit the other day, and I decided that'd be one of the things I called her, instead of bothering to learn her name. "That's Lu-chan for you! And I've got to do my best as well!" I heard exclaimed from behind me. She had a determined grin on her face as she bent back down over her books.

"Bunnies are strong, you know!" Natsu yelled at me.  
"Now that's one I haven't heard before..." I replied. I heard the shrimp mumbling about her translations as the flame-brain and I argued. "Haven't you heard the story of the tortoise and the hare?!"

"Sure, and the hare lost, remember?"  _Idiot._  
"Yeah, the first time! They had hundreds of rematches, and the hare won all of 'em!" I rolled my eyes. "This is going to be the hardest part..." My ears tuned in to her voice now, without me even trying, so it shocked me a little when she suddenly yelled.

"That's it! I just have to decipher the two grammars at different rates! If I go through the text...corresponding...then concert that into... I'VE DONE IT!" She leapt up with a stack of papers in her hand. I watched her hips sway back and forth as she walked towards the doorway holding the invisible wall. "You just wait there, I'll overwrite the enchantment. Are you ready? It's time for you to take part in the Battle of Fairy Tail!"

I grinned and started stretching my arms out. I felt a heat next to me, as Salamander's arms caught fire. "Hell yeah!" He yelled.

"Gihi, time to go have me a little fun."


	16. Ivan

_Listen, we can't chance you guys getting trapped by Freed's enchantments and having to fight each other, so make sure you split up as soon as you leave here!"_

"Tch. Like I'd stick near that flame-brained idiot. I've got a score to settle with him too, but this lightning asshole's really been pushing my buttons lately. If that's alright with ya, Master?" I looked at my shoulder, where a paper doll was sitting. The creepy thing had shown up as I climbed into a tree near the guildhall. I had pushed iron spikes out of my feet into the branch so I was balanced and could focus on the town for sounds that might tell me where Laxus is. I knew what the doll was. This wasn't the first time Ivan had sent one to talk to me. I'd only spoken to him in person once.

Makarov had just left from telling me I should join Fairy Tail, and this guy showed up. I'd initially thought the geezer was coming back, their scents were so similar.

_"_ Whatdya want now?" I snarled as I whipped back around. Only, it wasn't the midget old man. This guy was as tall as me, and smelled off. Like the guys at Phantom had. "Now, now. No need to be testy. I just want to give you a counteroffer." I raised a studded eyebrow. "I'm listening."

He smirked at me, convinced already that he'd get what he wanted from me. "Join Fairy Tail, like my father offered. But, report to me, anything you can learn."  _Father, huh?_  That explains the scents, at least. "What's in it for me?" I asked.

He chuckled darkly.  _Yeah, I definitely don't like this guy._ He reminded me too much of Jose, and I'd only just gotten free from that one. "I'm prepared to pay you handsomely, boy. Just pass me information, and follow any orders I give you." I bristled at that, but money wouldn't be bad.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever." I crossed my arms over my chest, flexing my biceps in the process. Never know, maybe it'll scare him off. He chuckled again, and reached inside his cloak. When he pulled his hand out, he held a paper doll. It was white, with a few colorful circles and squares on its body. "If you see one of these anywhere, you'll know I have instructions. Take it, and go somewhere private. Once you're alone, I'll know it, and I'll give you your orders."

I barely suppressed the growl that sprang up in my throat at that word.  _I don't take orders from anyone, pal. Not anymore._ I just looked at him, but he seemed to take that as my acceptance of his authority. "Good. I'll deliver a monthly stipend of jewel to wherever you end up living in Magnolia. I could make a few recommendations, if you'd like. I DID grow up there."

"I'll be fine." With that, I decided I was done sitting in this dump talking to the creep, so I pushed past him and walked out. By the time I collected my meager belongings and made it to the Fairies' guildhall, it'd been a day since the geezer came looking. Even so, he was sitting on a bench outside, waiting for me. "I want you to honor whatever agreement you've made with my son," he started, catching me off guard. "Don't try to deny it, I know he came to you. I saw him as I left, although he thinks he's too sneaky to be seen. Nevertheless, I want you to feed him information, but I want you to get some in return. I need to know where Ivan is. I need to be able to protect my other children, and I can't do that if I don't know what he's planning."

I studied the old man for a moment, and decided it felt better to trust him at his word than it had to even consider trusting his son, Ivan. I finally settled on just nodding, once, rather than trying to put to words my agreement. That seemed to satisfy him, because he jumped off the bench and headed towards the building. "Come inside, then. Don't expect a warm welcome. They'll leave you alone, but my children aren't going to like this."

I came back to the present to hear Ivan say, "...gain their trust as a 'comrade'. Don't draw attention to yourself. For the moment, play loyal. Delivering the Fairies' punishment will come in due time, my boy." I sneered at the doll.  _I'm not yer anything, fool._ "Roger that." Its mission complete, the little paper doll shredded itself, the pieces blowing away in the wind.

I felt a sudden surge of power, dark and amazingly strong. I whipped my head to the direction it was coming from and saw a figure fleeing into the sky, followed by a creature that looked like a demon. The first creature had long, bright green hair, so I assumed it was Freed. They were all the way on the other side of town, so I decided to leave it be. "Tch, I can't smell anyone from here. This is pointless." As I prepared to jump out of the tree, I heard a massive explosion of shattering glass. "Ah, there he is." With a smirk and no small amount of excitement, I pulled the iron spikes back into my feet and launched myself towards the sounds of destruction.


	17. Madman

I took off across town, heading for the big cathedral. I heard the townspeople muttering about the fighting going on, and commenting on the lacrima hanging in the sky. "Think they're some kind of fireworks?"  _Tch. Normal people are so dense._ I shoved a couple of drunken idiots out of my way and kept running.  _Gotta hurry if I want to fight this bastard before the Salamander._

As I ran up the street towards the building, I saw the Titania running out the front door. She didn't look like she was running from anything, but she was definitely in a hurry. She ran the other direction and I slowed my charge for a minute, considering following her. I heard fighting sounds from the cathedral, and that decided me. I whipped around and headed inside, jumping up to climb in a window instead of the front door.

I found myself on a balcony, and crouched low to the ground. The sounds of battle from below were pretty intense. I snuck towards the edge of the railing and looked over.  _Dammit, he beat me here! I can't join in, he'll just start whining._ I stayed there, crouched low, watching the two fight. At the moment, the pink haired idiot was getting his ass handed to him, but he just kept getting up.

"You really are tough" I heard Salamander say, as he pushed off the ground once again. Suddenly, a swell of power surged out from Laxus. Natsu wasn't getting any further than his hands and knees. "Crap, my body isn't working anymore!" He whined as he fell flat again.  _Move, idiot!_ I dropped over the edge of the balcony down to the ground floor, but neither of them saw me.

"Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction!" Blondie was standing with a fist raised, the power emanating from him intense.  _Ah shit, he's gonna kill him!_ I heard the murderous growl in his voice as he yelled, "Raging Bolt!" The electricity was so thick in the room you could almost taste it, and then I couldn't see anymore.

As the glare faded from my vision, I heard Laxus laughing maniacally. "Natsu... Who's the strongest man in the guild? Hahaha! Guess you can't answer because I've blown you to bits!" I looked down at my fist, and grinned to myself.

"Weren't ya meant to be nakama? And now yer laughin' about killing him..." I said, watching the lightning idiot's head snap in my direction. The shock in his eyes was ironic. "Ya really have lost it. Not that ya actually did kill him or anythin'. That's my job." I raised my arm to show him the Salamander. I had snatched him from where he'd lain mere seconds before the lightning struck. I held the flame-brain up for another second, then tossed him aside.

"Oh look! A new victim! Vanish! Disappear! Anyone who dares to stand against me shall be reduced to nothing!" He was raving like a madman now. Natsu grunted and pushed himself upright again. "I'll handle Laxus, just stay back." He told me obstinately.

"Tch, I have a personal grudge to settle with this loser. However, he's truly a monster. He is, after all, Makarov's flesh and blood. We may not like it, but there really isn't a point." I stopped and heaved a sigh before growling, "We take him together." I wasn't looking at the pathetic mess on the floor next to me, but I could feel his disbelief. And smell his anger.

"Screw that! I'm gonna take him out myself! Like hell would I team up with someone like you!" His screaming whine really hurt my ears. "Look at him, idiot! Is that really the guy ya know?" We both looked at our opponent. His eyes had lost focus, and he was laughing again, lightning crackling around him. "This is an enemy of our guild! We have to stop him here and now, we have to protect the guild! There's no one else left, do ya have any idea what would happen if we don't stop him?"

I looked back at my, shudder, partner. He was pouting, of all things. "YOU are protecting the guild?" He asked, looking at me in disbelief. Even though I knew it wasn't an unreasonable question, anger coursed through me. "Destroyin' it or protectin' it, that's my own damn choice! Alright?!"

"I thought you said there wasn't enough room in the sky for two dragons?" I ground my teeth and looked down at him; he still hadn't stood back up. He had a smug smirk on his face. "Maybe not, but with all this damn lightning, the sky ain't fit fer flyin'"

Flames began to lick his arms as he stood up, "This is a one time thing, right?" he asked me. I grinned, balling my hands into fists. "Yer damn right! I'm gonna settle things with ya one of these days! Now, let's go!" I armored up my arms, iron scaling covering every inch of my skin, as we charged towards our foe, prepared to give him the beat down of a lifetime.


	18. Dragons

I'd never fought with a teammate before. Back in Phantom I had lackeys, but never anyone who I would fight alongside. Except sometimes the Rain Woman, but even the count we didn't coordinate so much and divide enemies. These damn Fairies... well, we don't work together. On the one hand, I could use flame-brain as a distraction, and attack from the other direction. On the other... Laxus knocked him into me a few times.

One of the times we got knocked together, I got an idea, and put my arm in front of the Salamander's mouth as he let loose his Roar. I used the momentum of the roar to power my fist at Laxus' face. I barely missed, and that only because I hadn't been ready for the speed and force behind my punch so it wasn't as precise as usual. "Iron Dragon's Sword!" I yelled, shifting the metal studs in my arms into a sword coating my fist. At least, I think. Maybe I'm actually changing my fist into a sword. Dad never fully explained that, and I can't tell what's under the metal once I use that ability.

I swung my sword at the lightning freak, but he was fast and jumped out of the way. Continuing momentum, I swung a foot at his head, making it into an iron pillar. He blocked the hit, and as I was still off balance shot a powerful bolt at me. I couldn't get my feet back under me fast enough, and it hit me square in the chest. You'd think I'd have been a little used to that sting after our encounter the day before. Had it only been a day, really?

As I fell to the ground, Natsu popped up behind our opponent with a roar, exploding fire hitting him in the back. I pushed myself off the ground again, my sword ready. I swung it into Laxus, like a child playing ball, and knocked him to the ground between my reluctant partner and myself. With a quick nod, we both inhaled, preparing our roars.

"Fire Dragon's -"  
"Iron Dragon's -"  
"ROAR!" we shouted in unison. His fire breath and the cyclone of metal that I shot out collided with Laxus, creating a blast that shook the building. Any windows that hadn't already shattered did so at that moment, and some stones broke loose from the ceiling and walls.

We stood panting, feeling a little proud of ourselves, when my ears picked up a laugh in the midst of the rubble falling.  _What the hell?!_  "That's all you can do? So then, that's the power of a Dragon Slayer?" His pants were in tatters, and his shirt completely burned off, but the blonde freak was otherwise unscathed.

"Impossible!" I muttered. "What incredible power! How was he able to withstand our attacks?" He grinned widely, and I actually saw his canines elongate. "The geezer always told me to keep this to myself. But I'm going to show you my special secret..." I heard Salamander next to me gasp, "Impossible!"  
"He's gotta be bluffing!" I exclaimed. But he wasn't. He started yelling, pulling even more power to himself. I saw scales form on his massive arms, and he drew in a great breath. "Lightning Dragon's-"

"Is he about to do what I think? NO LAXUS!" Natsu yelled at his former comrade. "ROAR!" The blast was so huge that I couldn't block it. I couldn't even run or jump out of the way. This wasn't anything like the smaller bolts he'd hit me with yesterday, or even the massive bolt I pulled Pinky away from earlier. This was as wide as the cathedral, almost alive with power. It stole my breath, and crushed us both to the ground. "Gaaaah!" I couldn't help the groan that escaped me as I tried to get back up. "I'm... paralyzed?!" The electricity still jolting though my muscles kept me from controlling them properly.

"Still alive? I will end this! You two idiots, Erza, Mystogan, the old man, and even the fools of this town! I will exterminate you all!" I wouldn't have thought it possible for him to gather more power to himself, but he did. Or maybe he just pulled back all of the power he'd just discharged. I don't even know. It didn't feel quite the same though.

"What is this power?" I tried to turn my head so I could look my attacker in the face. Natsu murmured, "This feeling... Gramps?" Come to think of it, this spell that was being collected did feel like the old man.

"Wait, Fairy Law?! That's the spell Makarov used to take out Jose in one hit!" I knew it felt similar! Even though I had been several rooms away when it happened, there was no mistaking the feel of this magic. "Don't! Laxus!" Flame-brain was growling with the effort to drag himself towards the madman in front of us.

"That attack targets everyone the user sees as an enemy!" I pushed for all I was worth, trying to stand.

"STOP! LAXUS!" My heart stopped and plunged into my stomach.  _Why is she here?!_  "Levy?" I could hear the surprise in Natsu's voice. "You fool! What are you doing here?" I growled at her.  _How am I supposed to keep her safe if she throws herself into harms way?_

"The Master is... Your own grandfather... He's at death's door!" As the wind blew past her in the door, I could smell her grief. I thought I sensed a hiccup in the power of Laxus' spell too, but it didn't last long.  
"So please! Just stop this! Go see him while you still can!" The sadness in her voice was pulling at me, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the threat in front of me.

Laxus seemed to be on the verge of dispersing the spell, and Natsu was muttering in disbelief, "Gramps...gonna die?" Suddenly, Blondie resumed his stance and barked out a laugh. "Well that suits me just fine! Looks like my chances of being Master just went up some more!"  _Why can't I get up? This is bullshit!_ No matter how I tried, my body wasn't cooperating, and I couldn't stop this attack. I almost blacked out from the effort, and when I could focus again I heard, "Fairy Law, activate!" I buried my face in the arm I had in front of me as a brilliant light washed over me.


	19. Fairy Law

I was blind. Completely blind, and my ears were ringing. My nose was telling me that Laxus was still standing where he'd been, Flame Brain was still on the ground next to me, and the tiny bookworm was still nearby. But I couldn't tell anything else. I didn't know who's fear or rage I was smelling. Hell, it could have been my own.

It seemed like it'd been hours, but I finally heard the  _tick, clunk, thunk_ of falling debris and someone breathing. "Hah. Hah." Blondie was panting. "I've... Hah. Surpassed him." I pushed my head off my arm and coughed, clearing my lungs of dust.  _Have to see if that woman is okay._ The light was still too bright in my eyes though.

"N-no! It's not possible!" He was angry for sure, but he sounded so tired I focused on my breathing for a minute, blinking to try to clear my eyes. I heard a cough behind me and felt myself lose a little bit of the tension in my shoulders. "Why?! Why are they not dead?!" Laxus raged as my vision finally cleared and I pushed myself up enough to look over my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I asked, locking eyes with those intense, beautiful eyes. Still coughing, "Uh-huh. I'm fine. What about Natsu?" She pulled her eyes from mine and looked over at Pinky. I followed her gaze and found him, starting to push himself up as well. "He looks alright."

"What the hell is going on?! How can anyone survive an attack of that magnitude?!" The rage in his voice pulled my attention back to the madman in front of me. My ears picked up the sound of shuffled steps in the doorway of the cathedral, and it made me uneasy, but I couldn't look away from the threat of attack from Laxus.

"The guild members... and all of the... townspeople are safe. Not a single... person has... been harmed." It took Freed a minute to get it all out breathing as hard as he was.  _Gihi, the she-devil must have thrashed him pretty good. Wonder why she left him alive?_

 _"_ It's just not possible! My Fairy Law was perfect!" He actually sounded a little like a dragon with his growling. "Your power... and your magical ability aren't... the only thing... you've inherited from the master. Also, a heart that... cares for its comrades." Now that he wasn't walking anymore, the green haired weirdo was starting to catch his breath. "Fairy Law only effects... those whom the caster sees... as an enemy. Do you understand... what I'm saying, Laxus?

Evidently the shrimp did, though I'm sure the asshole in front of me did too. He was just still too surprised to say anything. "The magic penetrated the depths of his heart." She said in such a small voice I might not have heard her without my enhanced hearing. I glanced over at the salamander to see him on his hands and knees, head down, listening intently.

"You can't lie to your magic, Laxus. This is just how you truly feel."  _I still can't get up. This guy had better not piss Blondie off enough that I have to fight him again._ "NO!" Laxus returned, "Anybody who gets in my way is an enemy. They're all my enemies!"

"Give it up already, Laxus! Just go to the master!" His buddy was persistent, I had to give him that. "I don't care what the hell happens to that old fart! I am myself! I am not his grandson! I'm Laxus! I'm Laxus!" I started to struggle to push myself up again, my muscles protesting.

"You think we don't know that?" I froze, listening to how dark Salamander's voice was. "Don't get all big headed on us. So what if you're the old man's grandkid. So you think that makes you so special? So different?" He staggered to his feet. "Don't you get so hung up over some stupid blood relation!"  _How the hell does he have energy to yell? I can't even stand..._  "The guild is the only family we need!" The punk bared his teeth in a growl that reminded me of Dad when he was angry with me.

"How could you understand?" Was all Blondie could respond with. "Do we have to understand to be your comrades?! We reach our hands out to one another to get past that!" Salamander yelled as he charged the Lightning idiot again, flames licking up his arms.

I thought I heard Laxus yell "Shut up!" as his electrically charged fist met with the flame covered one flying at him. They exchanged several blows, yelling at each other as they did. I couldn't hear what they were saying over the roar of flame and crackle of lightning though. Natsu came flying back, twisting in midair to land in a crouch. He slid several feet before his feet got enough traction to launch him back at his target.

 _How the hell does he have energy?!_  I wondered to myself again as he staggered upright for the fifth time. "Just stop already, Natsu. You'll kill yourself!" I heard the shrimp choke out a warning. "Little brat! I'll kill you so dead there'll be nothing left!" Laxus bellowed as he held his hands over his head, clutching them, one in front of the other, as if he was preparing to throw a spear.

"Stop it, Laxus! If you use a spell like that on Natsu right now..." I glanced over my shoulder at Freed, seeing fear in his face. He was friends with both of these idiots, he probably knew what was coming and was an accurate guess as to what would happen. Somewhere, I finally found the strength to push myself up to one knee. "Are you actually trying to kill him?!" One last desperate plea for his friend before I heard, "Thunder Dragon Heavenward!" I felt the massive charge in the air, and knew that Freed was right. Natsu was going to die.

"Nooo!" The heartbroken wail that came from the tiny woman watching all of this gave me a surge of energy. I would not let her watch her friend die. Bracing myself, still on one knee, I covered my arm with iron and held it out to draw the lightning to myself.  _This is going to hurt._ All of this happened in the split second after the lightning was released, and then I was knocked back by the force of impact.

"Gajeel?!" I could hear the disbelief in Flame Brain's voice. I groaned as I collapsed again, "GO!" I was vaguely aware of him nodding, but I was fading out of consciousness. I don't know how much time passed, but it didn't feel like very long before I heard a scream come from the salamander. It was bestial and filled with raw emotion, but the strength of it told me we had ended it. I wouldn't have called it a win though, with all of the injuries and energy expended. It was simply over.


	20. Raven Tail

It didn't take very long for the idiots of the guild to come pouring through the doors of the cathedral to find Salamander and me passed out cold. I had held onto consciousness as long as possible, but after Natsu roared, he had collapsed, telling me the fight really was done. I'd seen a blue haze hovering near me, and heard someone whisper, "It'll be okay. Just rest now." I hadn't argued, just closed my eyes and let go.

When I came to, I was wrapped in bandages across most of my torso, and could only open one eye. My right leg was in a cast from toe to knee, too. _That'll get annoying real fast._ I'd had injuries like these before. I heal more quickly than most people, so sometimes the casts were more of a nuisance than a help, but it was a little late to worry about that at this point. I could always cut it off later.

As soon as Flame Brain was engaged in his retelling of his fight with the lightning idiot, I slipped outside the guildhall. I was already tired of their noise, and it wasn't like they'd thank me for my part anyway. No point in sticking around. As I limped out the door, the cast already annoying me, I glimpsed a flash of white. Turning towards it, I saw one of Ivan's dolls floating near the corner of the building.

I checked to make sure no one was following me and limped after it, my one crutch tucked under my arm. There was a black carriage waiting for me, and with a groan I climbed in, leaning against the open window. I had hopes that the ride wouldn't jostle too much, but the first lurch forward quelled that as pain shot through my injured body. I wondered how long I would be gone, but I wasn't worried about anyone missing me. Makarov might have, but he was still laid up in the infirmary. He was going to make it, thanks to the pink haired hag who'd stormed into the guildhall to assist with the aftermath of the fight, but was on bed rest until the parade which had been postponed a day.

Ivan wouldn't take any chances of someone getting curious, so I was sure I'd be back within a day, but other than that I had no idea where I was going. After several hours of agonizing bumps and jolts, the carriage finally rumbled to a stop in front of a lone tower. I fell out of the carriage when the door opened, causing some of my injuries to throb. As the aches subsided, the focus of my other senses returned completely. The place smelled of darkness and pain, much like my old guild.

I pushed myself awkwardly to a standing position, pulling my crutch out of the carriage. _Even the air feels depressing around here._ There was a single dark doorway in front of me, at the base of the tower. The building was shaped like coral, but it looked as if it was made of bone. With a sigh, I thumped into the darkened hallway.

"This way, boy." I heard a voice come down the hall. I walked past several closed doors, ignoring the whispered voices I heard behind them. If they were fooled by the cast and thought they could take me, it would just mean I got to have a little more fun today. I wasn't worried by the power level of anyone I could feel here.

I came to some stairs and ditched my crutch, throwing it down onto the floor. Luckily, I smelled Ivan on the first floor I came to and didn't have to climb any further than that. I walked down another dark hall and found him on a balcony overlooking a gruesome landscape. The trees were withered and dry, the ground cracked. There weren't any animals roaming around, just some ravens perched on limbs branching out of the tower. _Definitely looks like bone up close._

"Beautiful things live short lives. Heh." I leaned on the wall as I watched Ivan grab the raven he had been talking to when I walked out. He looked at it for a moment, and it squawked as he turned it into one of his dolls. "Isn't that so, Gajeel?" He threw the doll to the ground as he glanced over his shoulder at me. I just looked back for a moment, trying to decide the best reply.

"Ya never told me Laxus was a dragon slayer..." That seemed a good enough place to start. I was curious, and it wasn't information that would hurt the guild at all. "Pfff. Hahaha! He's a fake! Just a fake!" He turned to face me fully then. "A fake?" I asked.

"Ever since he was young, his body has been weak." _Laxus?!_ "Out of pity, I put a lacrima into his body." I stilled at that. "Ya used dragon slaying magic lacrima?!" Ivan laughed again. "It's rare, isn't it? Now that he's been expelled from Fairy Tail, he'll probably come here. That suits me just fine. You know, lacrima are worth a lot of money these days. An unbelievable amount at that." I froze completely at that, a rage settling into my stomach. Luckily most of my face was covered in bandages, so he wouldn't be able to tell in the moment before I regained control.

Even so, I heard the shock in my voice, "Are...are ya goin' to take it out of him? If ya do, Laxus will..." The bastard interrupted me with his laughter again. "It was too much power for that kid to begin with! Papa will turn him back to what he used to be..." I couldn't believe this guy! His own son!

"He's just money now. All that's needed is money to spark a war against Fairy Tail." He changed another raven into a doll and casually cast it aside, as if it hadn't just been a living creature. I schooled indifference into my face before he looked at me again. "You have to continue your infiltration just a bit longer." His face was dark with malice, and I was almost out of patience. "Are ya sure? If they found out I was a spy, they would force me to reveal this location."

Ivan huffed out a breath. "That makes no difference." I grinned at him and pushed myself off the wall. "Fine then. I'd best be back. They'll look for me before too long." I was dismissed with a wave as he turned to survey his gloomy territory again. I thumped back down the stairs, grabbed my crutch off the floor, and walked out of the building. The carriage was still waiting for me, and with a groan I settled in for the torturous ride back to Magnolia.


	21. Epilogue

When the carriage finally came to a stop again, it was on the outskirts of town, near the guildhall. I stumbled out into the open air and took several deep breaths while I waited for the aches to fade. "Ugh, never again." I promised myself. I took my time thumping to the guild and slipped in the door as quietly as possible. The fools were well into their celebration of our victory, and preparations were underway for the festival. I made my way to the second floor balcony to see if the old man was up and around yet.

I didn't see him there, so I went to the railing to look below. Maybe I'd missed him when I walked through.  _He IS awfully small..._  There was the salamander, bandaged top to bottom, much like myself. Juvia sat next to the stripper and the rest of that team, all of them smashing their glasses together before draining them.  _Hmm, she seems to be fittin' in well here. That's good. Poor woman deserves better friends than me._ My gaze wandered some more and settled on a tiny blue haired mage. Her idiot shadows were hovering, of course, one of them dressed in a stupid costume from the parade.

_She looks so happy. Good._ I studied her for a moment, trying to make sure she hadn't taken any injuries in the fighting. "It'll be okay, just rest now." My brain suddenly connected the voice I'd heard before passing out to the script mage sitting on a table below me.  _Huh. I trusted her enough to let my guard down..._ "Gajeel." I jumped a little and looked over my shoulder, seeing the old man behind me. Geezer somehow snuck up on me. "You want to take part in the big finale?" He asked. I grunted out a response, not even wasting time thinking about it. "Sorry, but I'll pass." I turned to face the Master, waiting to see what he wanted.

"I see. Well, we managed to pull it off, in the end!" He started taking pieces of his ridiculous little cat costume off. "And starting tomorrow, we'll have to get to work helping with the repairs to the city."  _Great._ I reached into my pocket and pulled out the notes I managed to scribble out on the trip back to the hall. "Master..." He looked up at me and took the paper. "I've uncovered Master Ivan's... your son's current location." With a frown, he started reading what I'd written.

"I apologize for giving you such a dangerous task." I snorted at him before replying. "Nah, this is nothin'. He hasn't worked out yet that I'm a double agent."

I started to walk away, suddenly feeling very tired. "Oh, and he's after the lacrima inside of Laxus." As loud as my walking was with this stupid cast, I almost missed his growled response. "As long as I have his location, I can handle that. I won't let him have his way." I nodded and walked away.  _See? THAT is how family is supposed to treat each other. Maybe these Fairies aren't completely stupid..._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N And so this book is completed! But! I've written a second fic and will start publishing those chapters next week! It's called In Secret, and I really hope you like it! As always, much love, thank you for reviews, they inspire writing! And go check out Muddyevil, she's the absolute best.


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